Australia Post opens $30m delivery facility: ‘Faster than ever’
Australia Post has today announced the opening of a new state of the art $30 million parcel facility, ahead of what is predicted to be their busiest Christmas ever.
The major dedicated parcel facility, which is located at Adelaide Airport, came online this week as Australia Post’s biggest ever operational investment in South Australia.
The facility’s machinery boasts significant improvements in parcel processing, being able to sort 8,000 parcels per hour, and around 170,000 per day.
The postal giant previously announced the opening of a similar facility in Perth, capable of processing 23,000 parcels per hour.
The new site has also created more than 180 jobs, plus 100 casual team members who will work in the facility to cope with Christmas demand.
Head of Operations in South Australia, Rob Clothier, said the new facility is an exciting addition ahead of the busy Christmas season.
“This new facility will help us get those high volumes of parcels moving quickly and to people’s doors faster than ever before,” he said.
Christmas demand soars for Australia Post
Australia Post’s newest initiative to hasten parcel processing in South Australia is part of a wider initiative to cope with incredible demand over the 2021 Christmas season.
Head of Operations in South Australia, Rob Clothier, said that parcel volumes have grown over 7 per cent in September alone.
“We had more than 344,000 South Australian households shopping online in September, and we know how busy the festive season can be after last year’s record-breaking Christmas,” he said.
Last December was Australia Post’s biggest on record, with 52 million parcels delivered around the country.
In a Facebook post, Australia Post representatives highlighted the extent of parcel demand.
“We’re currently delivering a record 10 million parcels each week!” they said.
However, some customers commenting on the post weren't impressed. One customer said that their parcel was three weeks overdue for delivery, and slammed the postal giant for their approach.
“We are busy, but that doesn't mean our staff can drop the ball when it comes to delivering your parcel,” a representative responded.
Last year, Australia Post invested $450 million into their parcel processing network, and has already invested about $31.4 million in 2021 to ensure they can meet growing ecommerce demands.
Australia Post announces weekend deliveries
Australia Post has announced weekend deliveries in some areas, as parcel volumes continue to surge.
The postal service announced weekend deliveries throughout Victoria as concerning photos of a parcel backlog emerged as Covid-19 scares saw vital team members forced into isolation.
Victorian posties will be servicing some areas, set to deliver as many as 350,000 parcels every weekend, in a move that is expected to last until the end of the year.
To counter demand, Australia Post has also doubled its weekly freighter flights into Victoria, from 30 to 60, to help carry more than 340 tonnes of parcels per week.
Another 1000 additional team members are also being recruited in Victoria alone to assist with mail and parcel sorting, customer service, and the driving of vans, forklifts and trucks.
Australia Post General Manager Corporate Affairs Michelle Skehan said that staff are working tirelessly to ensure customers’ packages are delivered.
“We haven’t stopped delivering and have broken delivery records throughout the pandemic even as we’ve been faced with challenges like having large numbers of our Melbourne people in isolation,” she said.
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